The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor wafer processing; more particularly, the present invention relates to cleaning the edges and/or bevel areas of semiconductor wafers.
Semiconductor manufacturers use semiconductor wafers as the base for manufacturing integrated circuits. In one step of the manufacturing process, the wafers are put through chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). CMP is becoming the main planarization technology for both dielectric and metal layers. For the CMP of dielectric layers, such as BPSG, BPTEOS, and PECVD Oxides (often referred to as the ILD0, ILD1, ILD2 . . . layers, respectively), a fumed silica-based slurry is normally used. Other slurries, such as dispersed silica, fumed or dispersed allumina, are also being used for CMP of both oxides and metals (such as tungsten (W), copper (Cu), aluminum (al), and titanium (Ti)). When the CMP process is completed, the wafers"" surfaces are covered in particles, referred to as a slurry residue. At later steps in the process flow, some of this slurry residue is redistributed across the front of the wafer, thereby resulting in a loss in die yield and/or device performance. To prevent the slurry redistribution, all surfaces of a wafer must be free of contamination.
Different post CMP cleaning methods have been introduced in the last few years. These include cleaning the wafers in wet stations using conventional wet cleaning methods, such as SC1, HF and megasonic cleaning. other cleaning methods in use are based or scrubbing wafers with brushes of various kinds and configurations using DI water or a combination of DI with chemicals such as Ammonia and Citric acid.
One system used to remove wafer contaminants is a double sided scrubber. In a double sided scrubber, a semiconductor wafer is scrubbed simultaneously on both sides by brushes. Since the wafer is being scrubbed simultaneously on both sides by the brushes, there must be a way of holding the wafer in place and rotating the wafer so the entire surface of the wafer is cleaned. A mechanism used for this purpose is commonly referred to as a roller.
Today, double sided scrubbers are usually automated and comprise a conveyor type mechanism, rollers, and brushes. In general, the wafer lies flat on the conveyor mechanism and the conveyor mechanism moves the wafer into the brushes. While being scrubbed, the wafer is supported (or held horizontally) by the conveyor mechanism, brushes, rollers, or a combination thereof. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional double sided wafer scrubber. Referring to FIG. 1, a wafer 102 is being scrubbed by brushes, one of which is shown as brush 110 and the other being beneath wafer 102 and directly below brush 110. Rollers 108 rotate wafer 102 so the entire wafer surface may be cleaned. Each of brushes 110 is rotated about its central axis by a motor 106. The rotary motion of rollers 108 is then transferred to wafer 102 when the edge of each of rollers 109 comes into contact with the outer edge of wafer 102.
Although conventional brush cleaning systems can effectively clean the front and backs of semiconductor substrates, such systems fail to provide a sufficient amount of mechanical energy at the edge/bevel to remove contamination.
The present invention provides an apparatus that cleans the edge of substrates, including the bevel area when present.
An apparatus for cleaning edges and/or bevel areas of substrates is described. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a cleaning mechanism that cleans particles off the edge of the wafer based upon friction at the contact point between the wafer and a rotating belt.